Just Arsenal News

The ex-Gunners manager George Graham is upset that Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board refuse to go that extra mile to actually win a real trophy rather than just aiming to qualify for the Champions League, and even then don’t expect to get past the quarter-finals!

Arsenal are currently odds-on in the Premier League betting to finish in the top four, which may change if the Gunners fail to beat Spurs next weekend, but Graham thinks they should be aiming higher than that. “The problem with Arsenal is their objective is to finish in the top four rather than aiming to win the Premier League title,” Graham said. .......Read the full article here

Promoting Gnabry by KJ

The Walcott contract situation is dragging on now and even though I remain optimistic, we need to prepare ourselves for the worst. Walcott could potentially be sold in the January window, forcing Wenger to promote German wunderkind, Serge Gnabry.

He was bought from Stuttgart for about £100,000 in 2010. He was able to play during the 2011-2012 season for the club with the U-18s. Eventually, he was fast-tracked into the reserve side after massively impressing the staff at Arsenal football club. His ability was far beyond most at his age and deserved the dramatic step up after only a year at the club. .......Read the full article here

There was much discussion about what three conditions Nicklas Bendtner put on any club that came in to buy him from Arsenal, in fact we had a few humourous predictions made on JustArsenal yesterday in this post.

So obviously this got the journalists thinking and it was only a matter of time before someone tracked him down to get clarification of his demands and it looks like Sky Sports got in first.

The first and foremost demand is that the club must be playing in the Champions League and also that he must be in commuting distance to London so he can visit his son regularly. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal Announce NextGen Squad by AH

Arsenal have announced their 32 man squad, that will take place in this season’s NextGen Competition, which is the new Europe-wide competition for Under 19′s, which by rights Arsenal should do very well in considering the wealth of young talent at our disposal!

The full Arsenal 32-man squad is; Goalkeepers: Reice Charles-Cook and Josh Vickers

Defenders: Zach Fagan, Elton Monteiro, Sead Hajrovic, Leander Siemann, Martin Angha, Arinse Uade, Tom Dallison, Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill, Samir Bihmoutine, Hector Bellerin and Kyle Ebecilio

Midfielders: Nico Yennaris, Isaac Hayden, Jordan Wynter, Kris Olsson, Jon Toral, Jack Jebb, Josh Rees, Thomas Eisfeld, Serge Gnabry and Chuks Aneke .......Read the full article here

Arsenal target Seydou Doumbia has made it evident that his current season at CSKA Moscow is almost certain to be his last as the Ivory Coast international goes looking for Champions League football.

Having made a mockery of goal scoring records in Switzerland and Russia over the last few seasons, 24-year old Doumbia is desperate to prove his worth at the biggest stage. There is plenty of global interest in the man who hammered in 38 goals for his club this season, with clubs in Italy, Spain and England set to compete for his signature. .......Read the full article here

Fulham’s outstanding player and top scorer, 29-year old Clint Dempsey, is not the sort of player normally associated with Arsenal, but I think he could add something to the Gunners strike force. His tough, combative style, versatility and proven goalscoring in the Premier league could provide Arsene Wenger with an alternative when the passing game is not getting results.

Dempsey has put out feelers to the top clubs by telling Sports Illustrated “I am grateful for everything Fulham have done for me…but the fact remains that I want to play in the Champion’s league. I want to play at the highest level possible.” Paris Saint- Germain are interested but I think he would prefer to stay in England and he would not even need to move if he joined the Gunners. .......Read the full article here

After the last match of the season against WBA, won by Arsenal with a 3-2 scoreline, manager Arsene Wenger spoke about the situation with RVP’s expiring contract.

Van Persie has snubbed all contract negotiations until the season finished, so now it’s time for him to face reality and make a choice. Following the game, Wenger thought that Champions League qualification could only help the talks: “It is easier to attract players and to keep them.” he said. .......Read the full article here

There have been many Arsenal transfer rumours flying about but the early links with Salomon Kalou seemed to have been forgotten about. The Chelsea striker has been in great form for the Blues since Roberto Di Matteo was appointed manager and the Ivorian international has been getting a regular run in the first-team.

Everyone has been discussing whether Didier Drogba will be signing a new contract at Stamgford Bridge but (like Van Persie and Walcott at Arsenal) everyone seems to forget that Kalou is also out of contract this summer, meaning he can leave as a free agent this summer if he wants. .......Read the full article here

Topic for the day: Domestic cup double or CL football? by KJ

I’m sure I covered this earlier in the season but we were in a much different situation than we are now. Liverpool are in the finals of the FA cup and could go onto completing a domestic cup double. This has sparked comparison between both team’s season and has led to the question; which season has been better?

My personal opinion is that Arsenal have had by far the better season. No question about it. However, let me explain my opinion. .......Read the full article here

Arsene Wenger is desperate for Arsenal to carry on their winning ways and make sure that they don’t have to play in the Champions League Qualifying rounds at the beginning of next season, especially as they come so soon after the Euro2012 tournament finishes.

Wenger said yesterday: “We have come through a very difficult period. We have learnt from that and must keep our feet on the ground and focus on the next game,”

“It makes a massive difference to finish in third because fourth place is a qualifier and third place is really the Champions League. .......Read the full article here

Arsenal fans could cost the team 4th place. by KJ

Last week has been one of the hardest as an Arsenal fan for me personally. Not because we lost but because of the way we did. The team looked gutless at times and there was no drive or passion. As a result from such performances we have been kicked out of the FA cup as well as having the slimmest chance of getting past Milan at the Emirates. It has been difficult with such results but I must implore Arsenal fans to remain calm and support our team. We still have the opportunity of qualifying for Champions league once again if we can manage to hold onto 4th place. Some may say that these are of the lowest ambitions as an Arsenal fan but what can we do now? .......Read the full article here

There will be numerous individual battles between players tomorrow at the San Siro. These will be key when it comes to the final result as every player has a role in that Milan team and every Arsenal player must do their best to cancel their rival’s individual threat.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs Thomas Vermaelan
Both of these athletes once played in the same Ajax team. Granted they were both relatively young but Vermaelan still remembers Ibrahimovic’s threat as he highlighted in his most recent interview. However, we must remember that Swede got the better of the Belgian as Ibrahimovic netted two for Barcelona the last time he played against Arsenal. Vermaelan will have to keep pace with Ibra at all times and along with Koscielny keep the space in-between tight. As well as having strength, the former-Juventus striker has also got speed and an abundance of technical ability. It is paramount that Vermaelan forces him back and overpowers him in Italy to nullify his threat. .......Read the full article here